Known methods of painting use a conventional roller assembly, for example, a roller such as a cardboard or plastic having an absorbent material such as nylon, reticulated foam, felt, lambswool or a sponge that temporarily holds a liquid (e.g. paint) until the liquid is applied to a work surface. This is widely used to cover large surface areas typically where not much trim or detail painting is required.
Still another method is to modify the conventional roller so that it receives paint under relatively high pressure through the cylindrical roller and permeates the inner surface of the absorbent material where it passes to the external surface thereof for application to an associated work surface. Known pressure roller assemblies supply paint to an internal passage of the roller at pressures of approximately 1000 psi.
Known pressure roller assemblies generally include a roller tube, a paint distributor, an auger, and a roller. The roller is similar to a conventional cylindrical paint roller; however, the roller must be able to allow paint to be delivered from inside the roller and travel to an outer surface of the roller. Such a construction makes these rollers more expensive than conventional rollers. The auger is received by the roller and advances the paint within the hollow portion of the roller. The paint distributor is received by the auger and the roller. The paint distributor typically is a cylindrical member having a plurality of holes through which the paint travels towards the auger and the roller. This subassembly, which includes the roller, the auger, and the paint distributor, is sealed at each end by an end cap. The subassembly is then mounted on a roller tube, which is hollow so that paint can flow through the tube toward the subassembly. Paint travels through the tube and into the subassembly under pressure that can be as great as 1000 psi.
Such pressure roller assemblies as described above allow an operator to typically cover more surface area during an application job than a conventional paint roller. Nevertheless, many drawbacks are attributed to these pressure roller assemblies. First, the known assembly operates at high pressures, which can cause stress to the components of the assembly as well as fatigue to the operator due to the high pressure working against the operator. The known assembly also requires a special roller that includes small fluid ports that can become blocked resulting in a malfunctioning painting apparatus. Also, the roller can become saturated resulting in splatter and drips during the painting process. Known pressure rolling assemblies also include many sealed wear parts that can become worn and leak.
Known pressure rolling assemblies also do not include splatter guards and can be very difficult and time consuming to clean. Furthermore, the paint distribution in the pressurized painting apparatus can also be uneven. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a painting apparatus that overcomes the shortcomings mentioned above.